Open AccessDiagnosing black carbon trends in large urban areas using carbon monoxide measurements
Author(s) -
Baumgardner Darrel,
Raga G.,
Peralta O.,
Rosas I.,
Castro T.,
Kuhlbusch T.,
John A.,
Petzold A.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2001jd000626
Subject(s) - carbon monoxide , carbon black , environmental science , gasoline , atmospheric sciences , combustion , carbon fibers , diesel fuel , correlation coefficient , meteorology , environmental chemistry , geography , chemistry , materials science , geology , statistics , mathematics , biochemistry , natural rubber , organic chemistry , composite number , composite material , catalysis
The relationship between black carbon (BC) and carbon monoxide (CO) has been analyzed using measurements from two sites in Mexico City and five urban areas in Germany. The correlation coefficient between BC and CO is greater than 0.90 for all sites. The average slope of the linear regression line for BC versus CO is 2.2 μg mg −1 for German sites and 1.1 μg mg −1 in Mexico City. The most important factors that affect the BC to CO relationship appear to be the ratio of diesel to gasoline usage and the combustion efficiency of vehicles in a particular area. The results of this analysis suggest that CO measurements in urban areas can be used to estimate BC mass when direct measurements are not available.